Surgery fart leads to serious burns

A PATIENT at the Tokyo Medical University Hospital in Shinjuku Ward has been left seriously burnt after a fire started while she was on the operating table.

The patient in her 30s was undergoing an operation that involved applying a laser to her cervix, the lower part of the uterus, according to the Asahi Shimbun.

The fire was sparked after she passed wind during the procedure and the laser ignited the gas.

A report released by the hospital revealed a committee of outside experts looked into the case and said no flammable materials were in the operation room at the time of the surgery.

"When the patient's intestinal gas leaked into the space of the operation (room), it ignited with the irradiation of the laser, and the burning spread, eventually reaching the surgical drape and causing the fire," the report said.

The blaze burned much of the patient's body, including her waist and legs.